


A Study In Clow

by confelicitous



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: And for the young woman who has so little power, F/M, For the little magician that is so powerful, Rating May Change, he is tied to inevitability., slowburn, that she accepts her fate.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25121311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confelicitous/pseuds/confelicitous
Summary: “Everything is inevitable” is much different than “Everything will be alright.” A world that believes in the inevitable leaves little room for growth. Fate and power take precedent over much in life, but one day, faith in one another might just mean something. Something so much more than the inevitable. Eriol and Tomoyo slow dance in a world that blooms as it burns.
Relationships: Eriol Hiiragizawa/Daidouji Tomoyo
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Do you ever love a series so much, yet dislike one of their main messages? CLAMP universe believes that there is no such thing as coincidences, only the inevitable. Sakura appears to be the way they try to break that cycle of inevitability, but the universe itself still holds steadfast to this recurring destiny. It's difficult to have a self-made province, if the entire universe leads right back to the idea of predestined fates. 
> 
> So I thought, to hell with it, I'll just write about it and see where it goes. This one's for these kids, who try so hard for the ones the love. For the little magician that is so powerful, he is tied to inevitability. And for the young woman who has so little power, that she accepts her fate. And I'm going to undo that for them.
> 
> There will be spoilers for XXXHOLIC, Tsubasa Chronicles and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc.

“Everything will be alright” was, and always had been _different_ from the messages left to him in spools of sunlight, woven through the panes of glass. _Different,_ from the wayward tides of the moon. Sure. He had his soul divined to him by the sense of inevitability, of fate falling into place. But never like her. Not like Sakura. 

With fingers curled around his teacup handle, Eriol sipped as he mused— unprovoked, yet uncontained. His soul constantly overflowed onto the earth and the cyclic nature of energy wounded its way, _again,_ through him. Such powers never consumed him, but rendered him so powerful, he was powerless. 

Powerless to the inevitability of it all. 

“And that’s no fun at all.” Softly. His voice reached no one. The study, empty. 

> _“Nothing in this world is coincidence. Everything is inevitable.”_

When those words are uttered in his head, Eriol pressed his glasses up, back onto the bridge of his nose. There are moments where there are the lips of _two_ women, the eyes of _two_ women, the voices of _two_ women— all ringing inside his head like bells. Their mannerisms are so vastly different and the power fastened to their souls were nothing alike, but their words— Those _words._

“Everything is inevitable” is much different than “Everything will be alright.” 

A flash of midnight black hair rolls over _his_ knees. Not his. _His._ Over Clow’s knees came raven locks in listless waves, carpeting the old cherry-wood floorboards. Eriol does not recall a thing about her. Just that she is fun. She is dangerous. And she was never _his_ to begin with. 

Yuuko Ichihara _[1]_. A name that meant nothing to him. And everything to _Him._

 _His_ memories were incomplete, and perhaps it was better that they were. Clow Reed would never appear on this Earth again. But, _his_ memories still walked the face of the planet, within Eriol himself. It wasn’t _annoying,_ as one would say, because while Eriol was not Clow, he wasn’t _not_ Clow. 

Acceptance of the things to come and of the things that were… both were _inevitable._

Porcelain _clinked_ gently as he rested his cup atop its saucer, gilded in hand-drawn gold from an artisan Clow had met on his travels in 1906. Clow had personally watched the man drift his hands across the ivory plate just once, all the way around, his brush meeting each rounded divot with ease. 

Eriol had reacquired the tea set in a small mom-and-pop store in North America, about a year ago. He had overpaid for it, naturally. 

A smirk ran across his lips, as he recalled the store owner’s own astonishment render her entirely speechless. While Ruby Moon made a laughing fuss about how Eriol was just _“...showing off now!”_ Sure, sure. He had a penchant for putting on airs and chuckled it off quite easily, but Eriol knew it wasn’t that.

He loved it. **The surprise of it all.** How one so vacant in magic could be delighted, could be shocked, could be utterly spellbound by something they could not see coming. 

That’s why he loved his cute little descendant so very much. Syaoran could get cherry red for the slightest tease. Eyes wide as the moon at a lie Takashi Yamazaki crafted. As furious as the blighting daylight, for love. Always for love. 

Sakura was the same, in both brilliance and color. Cherry red _was_ always their color, wasn’t it?

However, when he left behind a hefty tip for that tea set, and his whole entourage had made a ruckus of it (Spinel Sun frozen in Kaho’s arms as she laughed daintily into her hand), one voice very subtly made its way into his head. To Ruby Moon, he was showing off. To Spinel Sun, he was being excessive. To Kaho, he was biding his time. To himself, he was having fun.

> _“You’re always doing that. Watching Sakura-san with kind eyes.”_
> 
> _“The same as you, Hiiragizawa-kun.” She said so easily. So easily._
> 
> _His eyes widened. [2]_

To Tomoyo, Eriol was kind. 

Eriol leaned back on his armchair, awaiting the predictable THUMP-TWACK-OUCH between Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun roll closer and closer. He was back in his study, counting the uneven thumps against the hallway walls bounce near. In a thunderous landing, they **CRAAAASHed** right through the door, slamming it wide open. Ruby Moon, in peals of laughter, was trying to dodge some chocolate Spinel had been trying to stuff down their throat.

“Takes one-- to know one!” He struggled valiantly, trying to get Ruby a taste of their own medicine. 

“Ooomnyum!” Ruby stopped entirely, biting straight into the chocolate bar with a cheshire smirk on their mouth. Eriol laughed at the futility of it all, considering that Ruby had no vulnerability to chocolate, in the least. “Thanks Suppie!”

“Rrrggggh!” Spinel growled in utter frustration, before hopping off Ruby and retreating to Eriol’s side. “I have nothing to do with you, or that sugary time bomb. Leave me alone.” 

Delicately bringing Spinel up to his lap, Eriol rested his other hand beneath his chin, simply staring a hole into his brunette-haired creation. Why they insisted on covering up such beautiful scarlet locks was beyond him. Did they prefer Nakaru Akazuki, in all her disruptive, anarchic glory? 

“Ohh? Are you going to scold me, Eriol?” Ruby batted their eyes, attempting to foil his plans with a bit of faux-philandering.

“No.”

He smirked.

Eriol Hiiragizawa was feeling especially kind, today. 

“I have to make a call.”

* * *

Something was extraordinary in the ordinary. 

There were many times Tomoyo stood by her window, letting the draft roll in like whispers she could not understand. Many times, she clasped her fingers together, fastening a song to her heart like she was trying to bring a dream closer to her. Closer to her.

The stars were so far away, but she never reached out to them. Because she knew they were indefinite, and if she had her hands outstretched, the light would slip through her fingers like silk. 

But she was not discouraged, her heart didn’t ache. 

Because she was— She was—

> _“Tomoyo-chan! You can use magic!” Sakura’s small hands gripped her own._
> 
> _“When I wear the costumes you make for me, I can really do my best! Much, much, more than usual!”_
> 
> _Oh, how the stars spoke in her eyes._
> 
> _“Because it feels like you’re protecting me! That’s why—”_
> 
> _“You’re like my magician, Tomoyo!” [3]_

**She was Sakura’s magician.** And no amount of ordinary was going to render her silent. 

Tomoyo wove her needle through her Georgette fabric, stringing pearl beads along the ruffled collar. Her voice hung in the air like feathers, softly careening side to side, as she recited her new routine in a swell of quiet emotion. She always took to the needle when she was inspired, when she was thoughtful, when she had no other thoughts on her mind. 

Today, she felt powerful. Even in her lack of power, she was doing enough. Enough to make a dress for her dear Sakura-chan, and weave a little spell of good luck in every stitch of its sheer, silvery sleeves. Enough to be enough, she supposed.

Ohoho! She hoped Sakura would like it!

Tomoyo played over her day, with a smile resting on her face. Her eyes caught the light of the sky, like a warm home with the door ajar. Waiting for the people she cared for to answer to the sound of her voice. Her mother, of course, was always the first to call. In her wonderfully shrill voice, she bemoaned just how far her daughter was.

“Alllllll the way in America, where your poor Okaa-san cannot see her darling baby girl everyday! Oh, I’m beside myself!”

Tomoyo giggled softly into the speaker, pressing the tiny earphone closer in hopes to capture every little intonation change her mother cracked through. Distance had made the heart grow fonder, of even the little things. Her chest throbbed a little, thinking just how silly it was that she even missed her mother’s crackling tone, now that she had been away from her for a year. 

She had even missed the last couple of holidays, too busy with graduate work to be away from her apartment. Twenty-five and apartment-bound wasn’t a good look, was it? 

“Well, Okaa-san,” Her voice sweetly considered a compromise. A clever grin, small but oh-so present, curled thoughtfully. “Remember, if you do happen to link your flight to England, you’ll be able to see me there for the next month.”

“Oh! Oh! That’s right!” Just like a star drop on her head, her mother’s mood sounded infinitely brighter. “Ohh, my baby… Thank you for doing this for me. I hope the arrangement won’t interfere with the last of your graduate school work, right?”

“Mhm!” 

“Even if Okaa-san doesn’t make it, know that my heart is with you.” She paused, as they sat in comfortable silence together over the phone. “You can always tell me when you need help, okay, Tomoyo-chan?”

“It’s okay, even when things are hard, to ask for help. Okay, Tomoyo-chan?” Tomoyo’s mother instilled a resilience in her that only surged stronger with each reminder. 

“Okaa-san…” Tomoyo’s voice swelled, just a little. 

“Thank you.” 

With that, the call fell into a gentle lull and they both had clicked off with their loving farewells. It wasn’t often that her mother would refer back to those times in elementary school, when Tomoyo lost her voice without an explanation _[4]_. But during lapses of vulnerability, Sonami Daidouji could drop everything to get to Tomoyo’s side. And that truth stood, even today. 

Even near the end of her Music & Performance Masters Program, which Tomoyo attended in order to further hone her skills. Even after her daughter had spent most of her high school and undergraduate years collecting accolade after accolade as an independent ballad singer. Even after all this time, she had to remind Tomoyo that it was okay to take the hands offered to her. 

Because there were too many times where Tomoyo used “I’m okay” to be someone for others. And never herself. 

While the rest of the day fell to routine, she had actually reunited with Naoko-chan for a couple of hours after. It was lovely to hear each of Naoko’s tales, painting out long landscapes in Switzerland and the beautiful mosaics of Saudi Arabia. She recounted story after story of her research trips, occasionally slipping hints of her playwright scripts into her real life encounters. Naoko-chan was always so intricate with her details, scrawling lines of ink to make her plays captivating and believable. 

What was always fun with Tomoyo was catching her right as she slipped between the cusp of reality to something fictional, which Naoko clapped in delight to. 

“Oh, you always catch me when I’m slipping, Tomoyo-chan!” she said, scribbling down that fictional idea before she lost it amidst conversation. 

“Why, of course, hehe!” Tomoyo’s laughter was muffled behind a polite hand. “You’re always creating while you’re on the go, there’s no wonder why you’d get caught up in the details while trying to recall last year’s vacation.” 

“So, about England…”

Naoko continued, retelling her experiences of the everlasting presence of rain and Stonehenge, to the bustling Birmingham Palace and Hyde Park. Before she could finish her theories about the Stonehenge, Naoko took once glance at her watch and had to take off— taking her theories with her. 

Which was a shame, because she was just about to ask about Akiho-chan _[5]_ and Hiiragizawa-kun. England was brimming with magic users, after all. It was only a matter of time, before coincidence brought them together again. 

Though, according to Hiiragizawa-kun, of whom she hadn’t seen for some time now, there was no such thing as coincidences. She glanced up to the moon, since her day had been eaten up by the velvet sky. And she wondered about that. 

About the fate that she had accepted where she only watched the stars from afar. 

Pricking her finger brought her back down to earth. “Ow!” She coveted the lack of company she had at the moment, since Tomoyo had never been caught once with a pinprick in the wrong place. 

Moving in, away from her view of the moon, she wrapped herself up and sighed. Shoulders slouching, for just a couple of moments. And again, the sewing engine started up once more, as her fingers slipped in another pearl, threaded into the collar. 

Her finger didn’t ache as much as the nostalgia did. 

Flattening out the dress evenly, she folded it onto her lap and picked up her phone. When her needle could no longer suffice, her phone was the next best option. 

Speed-dial, straight to the one she yearned for the most. And the other line picked up immediately.

“Tomoyo-chan!” 

Sakura smiled through her voice and Tomoyo swore, for a moment, that each star trembled with emotion. 

* * *

_**Afternotes: There will be spoilers for XXXHOLIC, Tsubasa Chronicles and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc.** _

_**[1]**_ **Yuuko Ichihara:** Powerful dimension witch. One of the main characters of XXXHOLIC. Implied to have a deep relationship with Clow Reed.

 ** _[2]_** This scene was never in the original anime, but it was in the manga!

 ** _[3]_** This scene was in CLEAR CARD arc, chapter 36. Clear Card seems to make Tomoyo's behaviors a little more comedic, but this scene definitely addressed something the original anime didn't.

 ** _[4]_** The original anime episode where the Voice Card took away Tomoyo's voice. It was the first time I genuinely saw Sonami as Tomoyo's loving mother, instead of someone who only doted after Sakura.

 ** _[5]_** **Akiho Shinomoto:** One of the main characters of CLEAR CARD arc. She was originally from England, but I highly doubt she'd stay there for long if she had the choice.

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Lorelei

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have now attached footnotes at the end of each chapter for the more relevant fun facts that may guide you through the story! If you missed the notes in the prologue, you might want to go back just for fun!

"Li-san, so you _have_ perceived movement in the Magician's Association, then?" Eriol's eyes darted to the grandfather clock in his study, his expression inscrutable.

6 AM in Hong Kong. 11 PM in England. Yelan Li, head of the Li Clan, made even _urgency_ feel effortless. She didn't sound exhausted, in the least. They had been rattling on for a while now, pinpointing spikes of magic within the international spheres.

"Yes. Have the visions grown clearer?"

"Undoubtedly. I've begun to feel…" He simpered to himself, that smirk teasing a vision of his past. "Like quite the _bad guy._ "

It was all in jest, of course, but the lips of the woman in his dreams grew clearer.

> "Four-eyed demon! You good-for-nothing, evil guy!"
> 
> _She huffed, unrefined, as Clow grinned triumphantly. [1]_

Whoever this Yuuko Ichihara was, Clow most certainly had not wished for Eriol to have known about her. The saying ' _Ignorance is bliss'_ made Eriol feel akin to a force-fed dog, nowadays. And yet…

"Butterflies." Eriol continued, curling his fingers to form a swallowtail butterfly visage with his magic. Swirls of dark ink smoke dyed it pitch black. "I see butterflies."

"Then you must know, already, that all D-rank magicians within that echelon have their eyes fixed on you."

There were three major groups comprised of the most influential, powerful magic on Earth. The **Li Clan** were a family of Moon magic users and the trickling bloodline of his cute little descendent, Li Syaoran. The butterfly hovering above Eriol's hand rested still upon the crest of his bent fingers.

The " **Most Ancient Sorcerers in Europe** ," abbreviated **MASE** in English, drew the longest spanning magic bloodline in Europe. Akiho Shinomiya had originally been born to this group, and thoroughly abused through its system. Despicable behavior, indeed.

And the **British Association** , who had forged an alliance with Yuna D. Kaito in order to oversee Akiho Shinomiya before he stole their forbidden time-magic relic from right under their noses. The butterfly riveted its wings once.

All three had their most powerful magic users designated under the **Magician's Association** , from which they were officially labeled D-ranked magicians. _[2]_

"And you? Li-san?" Eriol wasn't testing her, per say. He was just interested in hearing what she had to confirm.

"Your power is growing, Hiiragizawa-sama. I can sense such shifts even from here."

Effortless. She had changed his honorific to reflect his sudden power surge.

"Hiiragizawa-san is fine, Li-san. I am still your compeer, regardless of this irregularity."

"..."

They both mused in silence over the phone, as Eriol's gaze grew distant. The power that was shifting through the earth was making its way into him, channeling the energy of the Moon and the Sun in his blood. _Boiling it._

"Thank you for looking into this, Li-san. I do wish I had better news for you, but perhaps by the next full moon... all will be sorted out."

"Hiiragizawa-san—"

His voice softened as his expression did. While the Head of the Li Clan was concerned, Eriol did not want to leave this call on bad news.

"Everything will be alright." A gentle smile graced his lips, even though she could not see him.

"Now if you will excuse me," Eriol pardoned himself politely and ended the call with a resounding click.

Nearly an hour had passed.

Unsealing the sound-proofing spell that he had casted on his study, Eriol cleared his throat conspicuously. It was certainly loud enough for his dear companions who were totally-not-but-maybe-a-little spying on the other side of the door. The magic on the swallowtail butterfly dissipated— ashes to ashes.

Since no one was responding to his unsubtle coughs into his fist, he gestured one finger nonchalantly at the door. And it nearly folded open with how much power he had put into it. _Nearly._

Gods, this sort of power was going to bring that poor door off its hinges one day.

Unassumingly, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun had both their ears pressed onto… well, nothing! (Considering he had so kindly removed the door they were leaning on.)

"AH!" They both almost fell over, flailing their arms violently to catch their fall.

"Master!" Both doe-eyed and pitiful, his two creations scurried back into poses far less incriminating.

Eriol chuckled sweetly under his breath, feeling the anxiety radiate off them.

"It's best that you wait for your time."

"O-our time?" Ruby Moon sputtered.

"Actually—" The amusement danced in his eyes, as he raised an open palm to stop them from doing whatever the hell he just stated. "Don't wait. Do what you want, you two."

"Order and chaos are so delicate right now, but sometimes we need a little spontaneity around here." His laughter rumbled low as he looked over the both of them, entirely endeared.

"Master, is there something we should know about... that you're hiding from us?" Spinel, who remained in his cat form, inquired dryly.

"At the moment, all you must know is that everything I do from now on, I do for you." 

Eriol's expression became detached, momentarily— glassy gaze clouded over with an unreadable countenance.

"What does THAT mean?!" Ruby Moon exclaimed, brown hair still matting their eyes.

Silently, he was relieved they could remain in those forms.

"Do you mind fetching me a lemon feather cake? Suddenly, I'm craving sweets." Mischievous. _[3]_

"Eugh…" Spinel spat quietly, as Ruby Moon puffed up their cheeks.

"Eriol!" They brooded vibrantly, incapable of masking the frustration that glowed red on their face. "What's going on?"

"I believe we're all going to be veering off course, now."

He steepled his fingers, as he deigned his next move to be a simple one.

"Huh!?"

Politely, he bowed his head and drew his attention away from his two companions, back onto his phone. Opening up the digital directory, he flung his finger over the screen and watched all the names in his phonebook slide up like a roulette.

It landed on a name he studied with dark, laughing eyes.

"I'm going to call Daidouji-san," Eriol answered cheerily, inclining no other clue to his fate aside one that was wrought with _randomness._ He hoped it was random. He _compelled_ it to be random.

However, there was a gnarly twist in his stomach— a notion that any semblance of free will was now a guise for a grand scheme he had not been clued into, yet. 

He briskly set aside the suspicion that his erratic phonebook call was not so random at all. Venturing a different train of thoughts, Eriol mused that if fate was playing tricks, this was one that would get nowhere.

His story was already fixed the moment he was conceived, trained to a sole path towards Sakura's rising star.

Eriol should _not_ have been developing _more_ power under extraordinary circumstances. Not when Clow and Eriol, himself, had set up the proper precautions to never reach that point again. While these new developments were unprecedented, Eriol resolved not to let them effect him.

It was just a call. 

Just a call. 

"Oh… alright. But I didn't know you two were still chatting like normal!" Ruby Moon drew back their retort, giving in to their master's whims. "Tomoyo-chan was _so, so, sooooo_ cute when she was little. I missed when you and all of Sakura-chan's friends were so chummy, to be honest!"

"Aren't you going to get Master's cake now, Ruby Moon?" Spinel pestered them to stir the pot once more.

"Ohhh~? Did you want some, SU~PPIE~?"

"No."

 _CLICK._ Tomoyo's name flashed widely onto his screen. The dial-up tone rung happily once, as he pressed his phone closer.

The two guardians settled down, adjourning to leave him to the privacy of his call.

Twice, and the ring tone kept rumbling on without a response from the other line. Thrice. Another two times before he had hit an intercepting text.

Tomoyo Daidouji: _I'm sorry Hiiragizawa-kun! I'm currently in the middle of a call, but I definitely will call you back._

Tomoyo Daidouji: _But Sakura-chan says hello, too! I do hope this isn't an emergency?_

His smile did not falter even after his call had fallen through. How fruitful would it be to pull her one-track mind off its path, right? He'd be daft to forge an attempt at all, really.

Eriol Hiiragizawa: _Of course. Take your time. Do give Sakura-chan my greetings. You are free to call me back whenever you're free._

Left on read. Eriol leaned back in leisure, inching into his English Rolled Arm sofa to take heed of his terrible luck.

Humbled by a missed call? More likely than one would think.

And here, he thought he was going for a _s_ _atisfying_ flair of dramatics, wherein the call would feel just right. **_How anticlimactic._**

"Well, Eriol…" He murmured to himself, raking his fingers through his curtaining bangs.

"The world most certainly does not revolve around you."

Ducking his head, he was left to dismiss the embarrassment that would wring him dry. Or, at the very least, _attempt to._

* * *

 **(1)** **Missed Call from Eriol Hiiragizawa**

That struck her odd; this abrupt call in the middle of the night was clearly uncharacteristic of him. In fact, when was the last time they had done anything but parted meaningful pleasantries?

A breeding of Japanese and English mannerisms had been the grounds for something similar to tip-toeing. Keeping in each other's circles for the classic holiday greetings, group calls… The like.

"Hoe!?" Sakura's eyes nearly bulged out of her head when Tomoyo had announced who had called. "Eriol-kun really called you?"

"Well, he just said that it wasn't an emergency, so it's nothing to be worried about," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"I didn't know you two were so close! Isn't it really super late in England right now?"

 _I didn't know we were so close either, to be quite earnest with you._ In fact, if she was calculating her math correctly, it would have been midnight. _What on earth?_

Serenely, Tomoyo assuaged any of Sakura's final qualms on the matter.

"Sakura-chan," Her voice picked up sweetly. "I already texted him to tell him I'd call him back later, and he was a perfect gentleman about it."

Relief played in Sakura's eyes, clear as day. _Oh, how my adorable Sakura-chan is so easy to read._ Hehee!

"Okay… But I don't mind getting off the call just in cas—"

"Hiiragizawa-kun says hello," Tomoyo answered calmly, dusting through her best friend's second-wave of anxiety with ease. Such nuances were so familiar to her, Tomoyo knew them like the back of her hand.

Sakura placed the concerns of everyone else above hers, so sometimes it was best to be clear-cut about it.

"Oh! When you call him back, tell him that he needs to visit soon! I always do," Sakura beamed, already following the curve of another rainbow.

"My… you're always so sociable, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo swore her eyes were brimming with sparkles.

"H-hoeeee…" Sakura's little hair antennae bobbed in embarrassment. "A-anyways, we were in the middle of watching Yamazaki-kun's video, right?"

There was no such thing as a tempered conversation between the two of them, as they shared their thoughts openly on Yamazaki's two-part Rakugo performance. _[4]_ He had clipped and sent both of them a half-hour video of what he introduced as "a revolutionary script from the Edo Period, 1703! Dedicated to the renowned author, **Natsume Sōseki**." _[5]_

 _Rakugo to Yamazaki-kun was like a glove on the hand, really._ After all, the best kind of tall tales were the kind that he could drag out, in character, hee hee!

"Oh wow! He plays the cat so well!" Sakura cooed at the very convincing cat performance, as Yamazaki pulled a creative purr and held up a curled fist like a paw.

Tomoyo was a little preoccupied with something she couldn't quite put a finger on. She swore there was a lie somewhere in this entire context that she had missed…

Nonetheless, she tried to preen her attention back to the video.

Taking up the roles of a flustered cat owner, a cat, _and_ an old drunk who swore the owner had mistaken the cat for his stolen toupée, Yamazaki had developed _quite_ the phenomenal falsetto voice. For the drunk old man, that is. The cat owner was a woman with a voice that was deep, rich and resonated like thunder, which made her flustering all the more uncanny.

They both giggled endlessly, sharing a mixture of pride and genuine amusement at Yamazaki's sheer skill.

"You can hardly recognize him like this, hehehe!" Peals of refined laughter came from Tomoyo's end of the call— she considered herself as composed as she could be, for one caught in this reverie.

"I can't believe he just works as a daily salaryman! He- hahaha! He's SO good, hahaha!"

"Chiharu-chan must have preferred stability over being a cat lady," Tomoyo wise-cracked.

"Tomoyooo-chaaaaan!" Sakura laughed so hard she nearly fell over.

By the time they had snapped out of Yamazaki's enchanting performance, Tomoyo gasped as the realization visibly dawned her.

"Oh, Yamazaki-kun nearly fooled me this time… Ohoho, it was a clever ruse…"

"Tomoyo-chan? What's that supposed to mean?" Over video call, Sakura's confusion was pronounced— plastered over the entirety of her face.

"You see, Yamazaki-kun's rakugo performance was indeed a tribute to the notable 'I Am A Cat' by Natsume Sōseki," Tomoyo referenced back to Yamazaki's introduction, with a hand resting on her cheek thoughtfully. "However, he published the book in… I believe 1906? So that falls nowhere near the Edo Period."

"My, my," Tomoyo continued dreamily, as she always did— eyes closed and smile unmarred by his artifice. "If I can recall, 'I Am A Cat' was influenced by rakugo. So a modern rakugo performance influenced by a book, influenced by rakugo…"

"H-hoe… That's… kind of confusing…"

"The irony of it all might imply that Yamazaki-kun wrote this rakugo piece, himself."

"What!? Oh my gosh! How did you jump to that conclusion?"

"It's all conjecture, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo beamed from ear to ear, feeling that comfortable warmth spread over her again. Sakura always incited such gentle tides of emotion.

"But, we should send Yamazaki-kun and Chiharu-chan our love, right?"

"Of course!"

The time had caught up to them, as sending their well wishes to the married couple and spurring a longer conversation about everything under the sun had drawn out the call monumentally.

"HOOEEE! Look at the time, Tomoyo-chan! I forgot that we're in different timezones and-"

"No worries, Sakura-chan!" Ever the pillar of halcyon days, hm? Tomoyo waved it off in airy repose. 

They paid their farewells with a promise to talk again soon. 

It was nearing 9 PM for Tomoyo in America. And, 10 AM wasn't a cause for too much concern on Sakura's behalf, but…

Tomoyo peered at his name again and promptly decided to text, instead. It was far too ill-mannered to call him at 2 AM in the morning, when all the birds had settled to roost.

Why he had been awake at midnight to give her a call was lost to her. _Why her calls with Sakura-chan could last for more than two hours, was probably a mystery to him, too_. But, since they had just barely, (and she said that with tapered sarcasm) _barely_ missed each other, Tomoyo was already in the right mind to apologize.

That said, he had not texted her back since. It must not have been a pressing matter.

Tomoyo Daidouji: _I hope that—_

Tomoyo paused, subtly astonished at herself. Her eyebrow lifted, wondering when she had begun to text others in English so naturally. For the sake of familiarity and nostalgia, she erased it and started over in Japanese.

Tomoyo Daidouji: _I hope that this message meets you well, Hiiragizawa-kun! I missed your call earlier and I will most certainly get back to you at a more appropriate time for the both of us. If you need anything, please feel free to text me back._

It was formal— far more formal than how Americans texted to each other. But she preferred placid formalities. Especially for old acquaintances that had grown apart. However, it was rather dissonant since she had texted him more casually earlier.

She erased it, unsent.

Tomoyo, herself, had sent him texts sparingly throughout the years. Greetings for holidays (cards too!). Videos of recipes she thought would suit his tastes, or even Nakaru or Kaho-sensei's. Universal updates on her walks of life, as well. She tried her best not to spin out contrived messages, making sure each one to him was personalized. Even so, it was natural to grow apart.

Growing up was a matter of walking in the right gardens.

Sometimes, your fields never crossed, and you were left to tend to your flowers with different people.

Even so—

Tomoyo Daidouji: _I apologize again for missing you. I'd call you back, but it's pretty late for you, isn't it? Hopefully we'll be able to catch up tomorrow._ _♡_

She sent a heart, just in case.

Eriol Hiiragizawa is typing . . .

 _Huh?_ Tomoyo blinked incredulously at the bubble that had surfaced.

Eriol Hiiragizawa: _While it is late, I happen to still be up. Would you still be up for a call?_

Eriol Hiiragizawa: _Don't feel pressured to oblige._

Tomoyo Daidouji: _You don't happen to be in trouble do you? Blink twice if you've garnered the wrong attention and are being held against your will._

She smiled shrewdly, wondering if he would have laughed at the gesture. Really, she shouldn't be so shameless around a friendly acquaintance.

Eriol Hiiragizawa: _You can't tell, but I'm blinking so incessantly I may as well be asleep._

Her collected smile only widened with the onslaught of his wit.

Tomoyo Daidouji: _Might I suggest calling for help? Falling asleep in a tight spot may be grounds for concern._

Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated to the sound of violins. A tasteful ringtone selection on her part, just for him. Tomoyo dithered for a moment, contending where they both stood in each other's lives. _But, Hiiragizawa-kun has never meant any harm._

So she answered him, only to hear his resonating, playful voice calling out to her in jest.

"Help me, will you?"

Crisp and clear English, wrought with his ever-coy undertones.

"And what might you need help with, Hiiragizawa-kun?" While Tomoyo constrained her voice to its typical sweetness, one could tell it was nearly saccharine. Her English was tinted American, but it still juxtaposed his, fairly well.

"You wound me," Flawlessly, he had shifted into Japanese.

"I would do no such thing… _normally_." Japanese, and frankly amused.

"Daidouji-san, I thought we already had gone over this via text?"

"You mean, your current capture? Or the fact the fact that you've garnered the wrong attention?"

Tomoyo didn't know how they could keep up a rousing conversation if they shared little sleep between the two of them. Yet, she appreciated it keenly.

"The former." What sort of enigmatic smile did he wear, she wondered?

"If you're captured, let me use my magic, then!"

His evident pause enlivened her, since she could tell she had caught him off guard with that one.

"Hiiragizawa-kun? Don't tell me you've already forgotten about my magic?" She announced it so evenly that any average person would have been convinced.

_Or deemed her an eccentric._

"Never, Daidouji-san," His voice was dipped in gold and amusement. "Do you mind giving me a run-through, again?"

"Well… since you insiiiist," Tomoyo drawled. "I'm going to need you to find a string or ribbon of some sort."

She heard a snap of his fingers on his end of the phone line and laughed. Was he playing along or had he actually used his magic for something so trifling as this?

"Are you asking me to tie myself up? While _captured?_ "

"Of course!"

"Daidouji-san… this magic of yours… it's rather _unique."_ Eriol's voice enunciated 'unique' very distinctly, just to tease her around the edges.

"Do you want my help or not, Hiiragizawa-kun?" She fluttered her eyelashes, which served no purpose since he could not see her over their call.

There was no way he was actually doing this, was he?

"Why, you know I do." He was so deliberately smug for someone who had been the epitome of etiquette back in elementary school.

"I'll give you some time to do that, ohoho."

Another snap. "I'm done, Daidouji-san." He was diligent. She'll give him that.

"Alright, now let me simply…" She blew into the speaker of her phone and snapped three times.

"Was that it?" He sounded incredulous.

"All you need to do now is untie yourself, and whatever's holding you captive will set you free."

"..."

"..."

They both shared a tense silence for far longer than a moment's notice. Before Eriol finally cracked open first, erupting in peals of laughter. She followed soon after, feeling a rush of odd delight run through her veins that left her giggling alongside him.

Even before their laughter died down, Eriol sent her an attachment in a text.

"Open this after I head to bed, okay Daidouji-san?"

"Okay… but _did it work?"_ Tomoyo's victorious grin glowed in her voice.

"There was never a doubt that it would, hahaha!" His laughter, while fading, still had a persistent charm to it.

"Good night, Daidouji-san."

"Good night, Hiiragizawa-kun." Before she retreated for the night, a realization had struck her like lightning. "Actually! Before you hang up…"

"Yes?" Eriol stopped in his tracks.

"I am going to England next month on a business excursion, myself," She was going to call him for this, regardless. But it was so much more convenient to have the call fall right into her lap. "If you, Kaho-sensei, Akazuki-san, or Suppie have any spare time, feel free to message me before then so we can schedule a time to meet!"

"..." Eriol noticeably desisted for a moment, before picking up cordially.

"Yes, I'll definitely send the word out to all of them. I'll text you more details soon. Haha!" He answered.

"Surely, no one would want to miss your arrival. Until then, Daidouji-san."

Eriol sent her off with a courteous greeting.

"Good night, Hiiragizawa-kun..."

_Oyasumi._

Clicking off the call for the night, Tomoyo eased herself back into the breezy silence of her apartment. While she closed her backdoor that lead onto the upscale balcony, Tomoyo offhandedly flipped back to his attachment with one swipe.

Opening it, Tomoyo did not know whether she should roll her eyes or applaud at his sheer nerve.

Within the attachment was a single picture detailing his left hand and an exquisite scarlet ribbon. _[6]_ The very one that her "magic" had freed him from.

Eriol Hiiragizawa was bound by a beautiful tiny bow, wrapped around his pinky.

* * *

 **Afternotes:** There will be spoilers for XXXHOLIC, Tsubasa Chronicles and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc.

 ** _[1]_** Yuuko Ichihara had described Clow Reed as "an evil guy" and "a four-eyed demon" in XXXHolic, Chapter 1.

 ** _[2] D-rank:_** The title given to the most powerful sorcerers on the planet. Described in detail in various Clear Card Manga chapters.

 ** _[3] Lemon Feather Cake:_** If you've never seen **Tomoyo's Video Diary 2** , you should look it up on Youtube. It was part of a 3 part OVA that was an add on mini-series of episodes. These were well drawn and higher quality than the television produced show in the early 2000s. The quality of the whole anime has since been remastered in HD and put on Netflix and Blu-ray, so they are now on-par with the OVA clips. But it was these Video Diaries that started the high quality trend. Eriol, Sakura and Tomoyo make a cake in this mini-episode.

 ** _[4] Rakugo:_** A tradition Japanese performance, done by a single person. It often contains very few props, involving only a paper fan and a small cloth. Rakugo actors do not stand up, as they sit in a _seiza_ kneeling position. In the Clear Card Anime, Yamazaki wanted to join the Rakugo Club in middle school but couldn't, since there was no club established at their school.

 ** _[5]_** ** _Natsume Sōseki:_ **Prolific Japanese author (in real life!) who was referenced vaguely at the very end of XXXHolic. He's an incredibly influential person to Japanese literature in real life, who effectively changed the way Japanese literature was seen to the public. 

_**[6]**_ The ribbon that Eriol conjured was the same ribbon from **Tomoyo's Video Diary 2!** The ribbon was originally used to tie Kero up when he was eating sweets. 

**_Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment!_ **


End file.
